The Laboratory of Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems of the Institute of Environmental Challenges of the North studies lakes and rivers, as well as some parts of the White Sea, specifically, Dvina and Onega bays. Eight expeditions to these regions have been organized to this day.

Our first expedition to Onega Bay took place in the summer of 2003. Back then, the waters surrounding Gluboky Cape, where we are now, were inhabited by a 150-member whale pod.

*Beluga whales or white whales (delphinapterus leucas) are cetaceans, representatives of the family of narwhal toothed whales. They live along Arctic coasts, as well as in the White and Bering seas and the Sea of Okhotsk. Beluga whales live in pods and are usually spotted in groups of 3-10 or several dozen. They are capable of diving to great depths.

One month after the end of the first expedition, there was an oil spill in Onega Bay. According to official reports, 53 metric tons of fuel leaked into the sea in September 2003. Fuel is still being washed up on the shores, Viktor Andrianov said. Judging by the oil and sand mass collected by researchers, the spill was much bigger than announced, and the environmental consequences for Onega Bay were much more serious.

"We started studying not only beluga whales, but also the state of the littoral areas in this region. On the shoreline between the villages of Lyamtsa and Purnema, and in some other separate areas, fuel was found on a 40-kilometer stretch, and oil is still washing up on shore, sometimes dozens of kilograms of it.

We have been studying the water and fuel concentration levels since 2005. We measure the total concentration of hydrocarbons caused by the oil spill and the fuel remaining in the water.

In 2005, the laboratory conducted tests in the south section of Onega Bay. We discovered that in a significant part of this area, the concentration of hydrocarbons is 10-15 times above the maximum allowed concentration levels. In ten years the indicators have been reduced by half, but in 2011 and 2013 they were still five times higher than the norm."

"In addition, we discovered that hydrocarbon accumulation in the tissues of benthic animals and plants (animals and plants living close to the bottom layers of a body of water), such as mussels, lug worms and some other species, was ten times above the norm."

Our research enabled us to shed light on some ichthyological issues as well. A survey among local residents showed that whitefish can no longer be found in the region.

The 2016 expedition confirmed that whitefish are gone, and the flatfish catch has also declined.

Flatfish from this region were quite big in 2006. This fish has a long life span. This species could have responded to higher hydrocarbon concentration levels by withdrawing to more distant areas, and coming back to Onega Bay when concentration levels dropped. However, there has been no increase in the population so far, and our research showed that the flatfish available here are mostly young fish, small and with little meat. I have a frame of reference for this, since we have gone fishing in the Dvina Bay. The environmental situation is different there, which gives the fish a different appearance and taste.

When the oil spill happened in 2003, people had a feeling that they were being left out in the cold, they didn't know what to expect and were perplexed by the situation. But when we started our research, local residents started communicating with us and thanking us. Elderly women poured their souls out to us, while fishermen and other men working on the shore told us about the changes that were taking place in the bay, providing details on all incidents when beluga whales were found dead.

It is thanks to local residents that we learned that nine White Sea belugas have died over the last 5-6 years.

The oil spill has had a negative impact on beluga whales: the fact that almost ten of them have died is evidence of their thinning numbers. Nevertheless, the animals have not left Onega Bay, and are trying to survive there. That said, we are already seeing positive changes in the lives and behavior of beluga whales. For example, in 2012 we could witness a beluga whale giving birth to a calf near a big rock, where they remained for about an hour and a half. Later whales came here in small groups to swim in shallow waters and rest.

When I was just starting to work with beluga whales, I observed them a great deal and saw many interesting things.

For instance, in the beluga's brain, when one hemisphere is asleep, the other is awake. How they swim and where they go when they sleep depends on the specific place and conditions. I don't think that there are any serious studies of whale behavior during sleep, but you can see it clearly from Gluboky Cape.

There is a heavy current there of up to 5 kilometers per hour, and beluga whales use it as a "free taxi" as they migrate. They can leave when water is headed in one direction, and when the current changes, they can go back. These patterns enable them to live in a single region, which means saving energy.

This is when they actually sleep. I saw how it happens. A beluga whale swims while staying in the same place, rising to the surface to breathe air several times, in the same spot and with equal time intervals, after which they dive and lay on the bottom. In order to do so, they need to have something on the bottom that could serve as a reference mark, so that they can sleep despite a strong current, knowing that they won't be carried away by the sea.

In some years getting here was very challenging, especially by sea. Now there is a dirt road to Purnema, but getting to Gluboky Cape remains an issue. You have to get a tractor or a GAZ-66 truck from Purnema to drive seven kilometers along the bank during a low tide.

Local residents are always willing to help us

Weather conditions on Gluboky Cape can be quite accommodating, since it is the southern bank of the White Sea, but you can also develop a sunburn very quickly. It is not uncommon for a lot of skin to be peeling off your face by the end of the expedition. Biting flies can be so bad that they prevent you from doing anything. Only the sea helps. When at sea, we can work in better conditions. The heat is less intense, and there are no insects flying around.

I think that when it comes to dealing with the consequences of the oil spill in Onega Bay, we are halfway through. International studies teach us that the consequences of an oil spill of this kind can be seen for up to 40 years. Thirteen years have passed since this spill.

It is too early to talk about positive changes, but people live there, there is fish in the nets, the beluga whales are still swimming around, and we hope that they will stay there

If I see that the behavior of beluga whales has fully recovered and they remain as captivating a species as they were before the oil spill, I will certainly write a book about it. This is my hope.

As of today, researchers from the laboratory have authored many articles on the environmental impact of the oil spill in the region based on the results of the seven previous expeditions. According to Viktor Andrianov, the most detailed and significant article on this subject appeared in 2016 in the Russian edition of the journal Biologiya Morya (Marine Biology).